ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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A low budget, conventional film about alien visitation which tapped into the UFO craze which was more prevalent in the seventies.

At the start, a written screen scrawl suggests a government conspiracy that we need to be aware of. But the film proper takes place on some alternate Earth or near-future, since it features a U.S. President I never heard of.

This begins in Earth orbit, as the latest space shuttle mission is in the process of leaving a satellite up there. But an unknown flying object destroys the satellite, also killing an astronaut. The alien ship ends up crashing in the Arizona desert and is quickly sequestered by the government in Hangar 18, where it's studied by a scientific team (headed by NASA guy Darren McGavin and including Pamela Bellwood & Steven Keats).

Now, here's where the plot gets a bit daffy. Government bureaucrats (Chief of Staff Robert Vaughn and his no. 1 Joseph Campanella) decide to keep this all secret and place the blame for the orbital disaster on the astronauts (Gary Collins & James Hampton), because of concerns about the upcoming presidential election — it seems that the last time that the President brought up alien UFOs, his favorable rating dropped drastically.

In essence, the two DC staffers set into motion a chain of escalating unpleasant and unnecessary events. Of course, getting blamed for the 'accident' in orbit does not sit well with the two astronauts and they set out to find the alien ship. They are dogged by government agents, and things soon become violent.

This has the feel of a TV movie and it's on the dull side, though it's watchable to the very end. There are some revelations uncovered during NASA's study of the alien ship, but it's nothing new — a 'been there-done that' vibe — and the production design is definitely lacking.

Everyone gives a decent performance, but the plot unravels a bit by the end. This most important moment in human history is controlled by and disposed of by 2 sneaky pencil pushers in Washington DC who have an ultimate form of tunnel vision — this may also include the unseen, fictional President Tyler. And at least one plot thread is just abandoned — the female alien is simply forgotten in the abrupt conclusion, which is capped by an odd, convenient written explanatory epilogue.

BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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I couldn't find a trailer, but there are several versions of the full movie on YouTube, and the one below seems to be the best.

Bogmeister did a good job of preparing us for what this movie is-and-is-not (quality wise), so I think I'll download it and give it a look eventually.

While sampling the various versions to find the best one I discovered that the FX of the space shuttle in orbit were not badly done, although the all-black background (no Earth below and no stars around it) certainly prevented the scenes from being the least bit impressive.

The whole "astronauts on the run from the government agents" element of the plot reminds me of Capricorn 1, except that these astronauts are trying to reveal the truth about a real UFO encounter, while in Capricorn 1 the astronauts are trying to reveal the truth about a fake Mars mission!

I can easily imagine a funny scene in which the fugitive Hanger 18 astronauts cross paths with the fugitive Capricorn 1astronauts, and they all pause to exchange breathless explanations.

"Hey, how come you guys on on the run?"

"Real UFO cover up. How 'bout you?"

"Fake Mars mission cover up."

"Ah-ha. Geez, NASA really sucks, don't they?"

"Yep. Hey, who knew, huh? Well, good luck, guys."

And then they'd head off in different directions while two groups of black helicopters zoom past each other overhead, going in opposite directions!

______________________Hangar 18 (1980)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)